(The author leaves a note at the beginning, saying they are accepting criticism of their work being "far-fetched, dumb, etc." In response to that, they deleted about ten thousand words from their draft and rewrote it, condensing a lot of the filler chapters into a single chapter (a.k.a., this chapter). The begins the new plot line of the story.)
Mage Tim's eyes glared into Dean Barbara's soul before fixing his gaze onto Adam. The anger in the eyes made Adam shiver, but he knew that he would be safe if he kept quiet behind the Dean.
Mage Tim revealed his true form, but ended up doing nothing. He retrieved Monica's body and flew away from the tower without speaking a single word.
"You had no reason to worry in the first place," Dean Barbara chuckled. "He wouldn't dare to kill you on campus grounds anyways." After the duelling incident was settled, Mage Tim brought the sole surviving apprentice, Monica, back to the Monte Carlo Academy. Adam trailed behind Dean Barbara and glanced at her.
"Is it because of the Mage Council's rules?"
"Yes. Despite there being few regulations in the Council, none of the Mages dare to go against it. He simply tried to threaten you -- if he really wanted to kill you, you wouldn't be able to escape at all."
Adam shivered slightly, the words "antimage" flashing in his head, "Will he..."
"No," she replied. "First off, he wasn't angry at his apprentices dying, but he was angry at the fact that his Academy lost. Secondly, the battlemage trial will begin soon, and the trial will be overseen by a True Archmage -- as long as you pass the trial, you will immediately gain access to the magic net of the Mages. No mage would dare to do anything out of line when the True Archmage is around."
Dean Barbara handed Adam a drink, motioning for him to try it.
Adam peered at the purple blisters in the cup -- the boiling, bubbling liquid made him hesitant to try it. After taking a little sip, he found that it actually tasted really good, and it restored his mental power almost immediately.
"Thank you," Adam said. "But when do the trials begin?"
Dean Barbara simply pointed to his sealing necklace, "Don't worry about it. In fact, I think you should hone your skills first -- what is the use of knowledge when you don't have the experience? I've seen your magic, and both of us know that you can do better, can't you?"
Adam nodded, but he felt like her words didn't apply to him. The magic he had casted during the duel were all new spells, but he had already logged them in his mind. If the apprentices from Monte Carlo return, he was sure he would annihilate all of them.
Seeing his gaze, the Dean smiled and continued, "Within two years."
After getting the information he needed, Adam went to the Academic Department to submit his thesis, as well as some relatively complex runes. After walking out of the tower, he saw a group of people waiting outside.
In addition to his assistants, Elliot, William, and Frank were waiting for him as well.
"It's time," Adam muttered. He levitated and flew out of the Academy with everyone behind him.
There weren't any cemeteries in the Mage World -- most bodies were incinerated with magic, and James would be no exception. Under everyone's gaze, Adam took out James' preserved body from his portable space, suspending it high above the ground for everybody to see.
With a single wave, raging flames ignited his corpse. With another wave, a gentle breeze came upon them, and the grey-white ashes were scattered across the sky.
Everyone bowed slightly, bidding their old friend farewell.
Soon, it returned back to normal in the Academy -- the assistants enjoyed their vacation, and Adam returned to the Academy with Frank.
"You seem unwell," Adam stated.
Frank had nothing to hide, so he lifted up his cloak, revealing a fully-mechanical body, save for his head. Even his voice sounded incredibly mechanical and machine-like, "Indeed. Mage Jino encountered some problems in his research. I was going to ask you for help, but I didn't expect James to die so suddenly."
"You're sluggish. Is it the battery?"
"Yes. The batteries can no longer provide enough energy. I'm forced to replace the batteries three times a day even for the most basic of actions."
"What did Mage Jino say?"
"He wanted to replace it with magic," Frank expressed as he started to replace the batteries again. "But this body was built entirely on electricity. He told me that you made new progress, so he asked me to come to you."
Only then did Adam know why Frank came to find him. Seems like news between mages travel fast, "This isn't difficult to solve. Go back and wait for me, I'll tell you the result."
Since the two had signed a contract prior to this, Adam did not hesitate to invest in Frank. If Frank becomes a mage thanks to this, the benefits Adam would receive would greatly outweigh Frank's own benefits.
The next two years were calm and peaceful -- Adam no longer accepted new assistants, and the old assistants didn't renew their contracts after their contracts expired. Adam holed himself up in his laboratory, perfecting his original designs daily. New, innovative spells rarely left the laboratory.
When the two-year deadline approached, a man appeared in his laboratory.
"Nice to see you again, Dean Victor."
It wasn't actually the real Dean Victor -- he simply projected an avatar of himself to come to Adam. The real Dean Victor was still in another world. A murderous aura could be felt from his avatar.
The avatar stepped forward, patting Adam on the shoulder, "Disregard the formalities, you're already a mage in my eyes. Call me Mage Victor from now on."
Adam nodded.
"Are you ready? The trial is about to begin soon."
"Of course, I can't wait."
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